Will the Over-Taxed and Over-Regulated Vote for Change?

The Constitution State has a problem.

Unfortunately its leadership has been almost exclusively Democratic since 2011.

That isn’t a shock considering the states geographic proximity to other liberal strongholds like New York and Massachusetts.

Current Gov. Dannel Malloy was almost instantly unpopular due to his handling of the state's budget back in 2011. He won reelection in 2014 by less than 30,000 total votes; that  has always raised eyebrows among those seeking to turn Connecticut into a purple state once again.

It went downhill for Malloy in April of 2011 when just four months into his first term, the newly minted governor immediately turned off voters as the first budget he would preside over looked to raise many of the states already high taxes. And that budget didn’t address spending in any significant way. Polls taken during that time showed voters disapproved of the job he was doing — 40 to 35 percent.

An even larger number of voters disapproved of the way he was looking to handle the budget. "Connecticut voters are in a grumpy mood. Nearly 70 percent are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the state and no elected official in this survey has an approval rating above 50 percent," Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, said then. 

Many of the frustrated longtime residents of the state still had memories of the "good old days" before a state income tax had been implemented.

It was only 27 years ago that the epic budget showdown between then Gov. Lowell P. Weicker of the now defunct "A Connecticut Party," and the state legislature led to the creation of a state income tax.

Their failure to strike a deal before the start of the new fiscal year in July of 1991, lead to a partial government shutdown and the infamous closing of state parks that year on July 4th. 

The fallout from the series of incidents creating the dreaded income tax led many politicians to retire from public service. When the new legislative session began in January of 1993, 67 of the 187 legislators were new arrivals — the highest total in the state since the 1950s.

Even Weicker himself did not seek re-election. He retired from politics.

Connecticut residents now largely face many of the same issues afflicting their tristate are neighbors, New York and New Jersey. Taxes and the cost of living are pricing many entrepreneurs and the working-class out of the state.

Connecticut does have some hope in the form of gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski.

According to his Website, Stefanowski plans to eliminate the death and gift tax, invest in new infrastructure to spur construction projects, and is looking to lower taxes and reduce regulatory burden.

That platform sounds a lot like President Trump’s.

We've all seen what the successful results look like nationally.

One can only hope that a legitimate election is held there today.

Conn. State GOP Chair J.R. Romano has accused Secretary of  State Denise Merrill of allowing non-citizens to vote, saying she has failed to put checks in place to prevent deception.

Earlier in this election cycle, a complaint by a pair of registrars against the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) claimed that the agency processed a voter application of a Greenwich woman who had checked off that she was not a U.S. citizen — for a change of address form on her vehicle registration and driver’s license paperwork.

The question of voter integrity will be a factor today in several states, most notably California. But that issue aside, will the collectively overtaxed and regulated in several states, including Connecticut, vote to change course?

We’ll know in a matter of hours.

Julio Rivera is a small business consultant, political activist, writer and Editorial Director for Reactionary Times. He has been a regular contributor to Newsmax TV and columnist for Newsmax.com since 2016. His writing, which is concentrated on politics, cybersecurity and sports, has also been published by websites including The Hill, The Washington Times, LifeZette, The Washington Examiner, American Thinker, The Toronto Sun and PJ Media and many others. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.